


Showing Symptoms

by readwriteandavengers



Category: DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV)
Genre: Chocolate, Flirting, Gideon's a pretty good wing-AI, Lovesickness, M/M, Ray just wants some privacy, Ray's Lovesick
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-19
Updated: 2016-08-19
Packaged: 2018-08-09 16:18:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,836
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7808677
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/readwriteandavengers/pseuds/readwriteandavengers
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ray's minding his own business by working on his suit, listening to music, and dealing with his crush. When the others couldn't find him, they had Gideon pull up video footage of Ray's location. While Ray was unaware, he may have let it slip he was a little lovesick...</p>
            </blockquote>





	Showing Symptoms

**Author's Note:**

> I was so slow on finishing this but I'm happy with the ending. I'm trying to learn Leonard's and Ray's characterization better. Hope you guys enjoy!

Mick steps down the main hall, boots thudding against the metal flooring as he walks. He’s got his gun in one hand, and the other swinging at his side. He looks around the hall once, looking for Ray. He doesn’t find him so he continues on to the ship’s main room. Even if he doesn’t find Ray, he’ll find someone who might know where Ray is.

He takes a small turn and he’s walking into the main room. Proving his guess right, Leonard, Jax, and Kendra all hover around the center. Jax is propped up in one of their chairs, his head lolled to one side. He looks bored, but Kendra and Leonard seem to be having a conversation about their next location.

The two must be putting together some sort of plan.

Mick doesn’t really care about the details. “Hey,” he interrupts, now lifting his gun to the room, “anybody know where Haircut is? I was hoping he’d make some changes to my gun.”

Leonard’s head swivels in his direction, staring blankly with only the usual amount of heat behind his eyes. Meanwhile, Jax doesn’t even move. Mick’s starting to think he’s asleep, but then Kendra’s turning to him with a question in her brow.

“He wasn’t in his room?” She asks.

Mick tilts his chin forward in answer. “If he were in his room I wouldn’t be here.”

Kendra shrugs in response. She’s got one hand on the console and the other on her hip as she thinks. “I don’t know. I haven’t seen him.”

“Seen who?”

Eyes dart to the source of the voice, finding Sara walking out of Rip’s office with Rip in tow. She flashes Mick a smile as he walks past him, her fingers brushing down his clothed arm. Rip, on the other hand, only listens with concern furrowed on his face.

“He’s looking for Ray.” Kendra answers again, before Mick can refer to him as ‘Haircut’ again. At the thought, she turns to give Mick a small glare, although there’s a smile on her face.

“Gideon,” Rip says, “Can you show me Dr. Palmer’s location?”

“Dr. Palmer is located in the lab.” Gideon provides a clip along with her words. There’s footage of the lab Ray’s occupying now available for everyone in the room to see. Their eyes show interest with the blue light reflecting in their irises.

Ray’s got his back to the camera, but it’s clear he’s working on the Atom suit. His gray-blue baseball shirt clings to the skin around his neck due to his sweating. He’s even got on a pair of worn jeans and a backwards cap. Quite different for what the team is used to for Ray.

“There you are”- Rip’s about to dismiss the video, but Sara’s interrupting with a grin. She’s got her hand up, muting Rip’s words as she steps forward. Her blue eyes are still glued to the footage amusedly.

“Hold on,” Sara’s voice is soft as she nears the footage. “Is he… singing?” She turns to peer at Kendra with slight awe.

Kendra tries to act disinterested, gripping onto the console a little tighter. She sighs as she avoids Sara’s gaze, but her eyes are heavy on her. Eventually, she turns to the footage, inspecting it with a small grin.

“Wait, isn’t this kind of, like, an invasion of privacy?” Jax starts to speak reason, straightening up in his chair. He still looks tired, with the way his shoulders droop forward.

Leonard stares at Jax over the console with a smirk. “It’s called entertainment, kid.”

“Right, like you’d be so happy if we were spying on you instead.” Jefferson narrows his eyes sharply, his words shooting over at Leonard with venom. “All I’m saying is Ray wouldn’t be spying on any of you.”

“That’s because Ray’s a goody-two-shoes.” Mick grumbles back, barely looking at Jax as he talks.

“Still don’t know why that’s a bad thing.” Jax is standing from his chair now, shaking his head at the rest of the crew as if they’re crazy. He grabs the jacket he had thrown over the back, now hanging it on his arm. He’s making a move to leave the room, but Kendra’s voice intervenes.

“He’s right.” She sighs, her disappointment with herself shining through.

“Gideon,” Sara continues on as if she hadn’t heard anything Jax or Kendra said. “Can you play the audio?”

“Yes, Ms. Lance.” Gideon replies. As soon as the AI’s voice cuts off, the audio from the live footage begins to play.

Ray’s humming along with a tune that the team only realizes is coming from his headphones when his head tilts slightly to the side. The music must be playing quite loudly to silence the rest of the world. While Ray’s not one to sit alone and angst, it’s looking more like this is what’s going on.

“Who upset Boy Scout?” Leonard questions, sarcasm thick yet also serious.

Jefferson hangs around, unable to help himself. He stares at his surrounding teammates with disappointment and displeasure. It’s not as if he should have expected anymore out of the team. They are who they are, first of all. Second of all, why would they listen to Jax? He’s learning rather quickly that his opinion is dismissed more often than not.

Ray’s humming continues on, light and perfectly on tune with whatever song he has playing in his ears. He now turns around, facing the camera. His hair is patted down under the hat, but the sides right in front of his ears stick out to frame his face. He reaches for a new tool before giving his attention back to his suit. His foot reaches out, capturing a nearby stool with his toes to pull it to himself.

Ray spins once before sitting on top of the stool. He places one foot on the ground firmly and pulls himself forward. He’s at abdomin level with the suit, twisting his head to the side as he works on a few filaments. After he pats those down, he looks back up to his devoid helmet.

Ray pushes himself back, guiding himself around the backside of the suit. He’s hidden for a few moments, only his hands sneaking around to grasp onto the hips of the suit. He flexes his fingers and seems satisfied with whatever he was testing. His hands then ghost up the torso of the suit, only stopping at the breast plate. He pulls at the breast plate but it stays in place.

“Okay, he’s getting boring pretty fast.” Mick’s gravelly voice interrupts everyone’s reverie. They’d grown pretty comfortable watching Ray at work, but Mick brings most of them back to reality.

Ray’s broad shoulders then peer around the suit, followed by a grinning face. His lips are curled just at the edges, the corner of his mouth perked up higher then the other. The way his eyes are soft with the smile show a different meaning then anyone had thought earlier. He ghosts his hands up towards the helmet, his fingers capturing the chin and turning it towards him. He pushes a button and the visor slides away, leaving him complete access to the inside of the helmet.

Kendra’s smile widens, although she tries to hide it by pursing her lips. Sara’s reaching the same conclusion, glimpsing over her shoulder at Kendra knowingly. The two laugh quietly, their giggles drawing the attention of the rest of the team.

“And what are the adorable giggles for?” Leonard questions, although his tone holds disinterest. Regardless, he turns away from the footage momentarily to look at Kendra and Sara for an answer.

“Ray’s not upset.” Kendra answers with a small shake of her head. She watches Ray move around with a fond smile.

“What makes you say that?” Mick turns towards Kendra with genuine curiosity. He’s not questioning her assessment, he’s wondering how she got there.

“The smile, the humming, the working on the suit for a distraction.” Sara answers for her, waving her hand at Ray. She’s grinning as well, the sight adorable to her. Leave it to Ray to find something to be happy about, despite their constant missions. “Ray’s thinking about someone.”

“What?” Jax challenges with a hint of incredulity.

There’s a soft sigh coming from the footage. Everyone turns their gazes back to Ray, finding him standing in front of the suit. He’s situated the head piece to a normal angle and the visor has returned. He takes a step back to assess his work.

Ray shrugs, now turning back to his table. He pops one ear bud out as he starts to arrange the tools in order. He’s shaking his head to himself, chuckling lightly.

“ _You’re a lovesick fool, Palmer._ ” Ray’s words are low, meant only for his ears but the entire room hears them. He’s pulling the stool back to himself just as Rip takes control.

“That’s enough, Gideon. Thank you.” His voice is higher, interrupting the soft silence. The video cuts off after his request. He turns around without much of a thought, headed off to work on something else that needs his attention. His coat floats behind him. He waves his hand at the team dismissively. “Go back to doing… what it is you all do around here.” Rip’s then passing around the corner, gone from sight.

The eyes in the room dance around one another before they finally break apart, headed in all different directions.

-

Ray’s making his way to the kitchen of the ship, his mouth completely parched. He’s got his earphones around his neck and the device hidden in his pocket. He passes through the doorway, paying no mind to Kendra and Carter who sit at the bar.

Ray makes his way straight for the fridge, opening the doors and snatching a water bottle. He lets the door swing shut as he turns around and twists the plastic cap off. He takes deep gulps, emptying the bottle halfway. He lets out a sigh of relief as he screws the cap back on, but he can feel eyes on his back.

Ray turns around, finding Kendra with a small smile. The second he catches her, she tries to avert her gaze. By the way her mouth falls open and her eyes fall, she knows she’s been caught.

Ray lifts a cautious brow as he moves over to Carter and Kendra. “Hey, guys…”

Carter turns to Ray, smiling when he sees who it is. “Oh, hey, Ray. How’s it going?”

“Doing good. Been working on the suit for most of the day. What have you guys been up to?” Ray continues the conversation like normal, but Kendra’s still avoiding meeting his eyes.

“I’ve been doing some training. Trying to get back into things.” Carter pauses as he turns to Kendra, a question hanging on his lips. “You were with Jax and Snart, right? Putting together a plan?”

Kendra nods, forcing a smile. Her eyes remain hesitant, the smile never reaching them. “Yeah. Putting together a plan.”

“Ah, sounds fun.” Ray answers, but he can’t help the confusion that settles. He turns to Carter, giving the man another friendly grin. “I’m headed back to my room. See you guys later.”

“See you,” Carter calls back as Ray heads out of the kitchen.

Ray’s head tilts as he purses his lips, remembering Kendra’s guilt rather quickly. She wouldn’t have been guilty just for staring at him… there had to be a reason. She barely even looked at him when he was talking to her and Carter. Finally, he shrugs it away, deciding that he was probably just imagining it.

-

It’s just nearing two hours later and Ray’s had enough relaxing. He sat down, read a few pages in a book and then finally got about an hour nap. Both activities were needed, and Ray now feels rejuvenated as he makes his way to the main room of the ship. He’ll see if there’s anything he could do, just to keep busy.

When Ray reaches the deck, he finds only Stein and Jefferson. The two linger around the center console as they talk. Jefferson’s leg is hooked around the corner, resting his bottom on the side of the console as he talks. Stein, on the other hand, stands away with his hands in his pockets.

“Look, all I’m saying is that the drinking age is lower where we’re headed. I should be allowed to”- Jefferson cuts off as he sees Ray entering the room. Instead of giving Ray a friendly smile, his eyes grow wide and he snaps his mouth shut.

Stein notices the strange difference in Jefferson’s attitude, his face scrunching in confusion. He turns over his shoulder where Jax’s eyes had landed and finds Ray entering. The two share a look of confusion before Stein settles on a greeting.

“Good evening,” Stein nods his head forward curtly. “Jefferson and I were just discussing the differences in drinking ages and how the law should apply depending on the country you’re from.”

Jefferson nods along to Stein’s words quickly, his eyes guarded. He’s clearly hiding something, and his lack of words his him trying not to say something revealing.

“Oh,” Ray says slowly, his gaze lingering on Jefferson. The other keeps his eyes pointedly away, and Ray’s not the best at reading expressions. “I was bored so I thought I’d see if there was anything I could help with.”

Stein purses his lips as he tries to think of some options. He turns to Jefferson, prompting him for any ideas with a lift of his brows.

Ray notices Jax turn his head up, eyes still wide. In an attempt to seem normal, he shrugs but too quickly for it to be casual. He avoids Ray’s eyes as he answers. “Mick said he was looking for you earlier to upgrade some things on his gun.”

Ray narrows his gaze but he decides he’ll question it later. It can’t be a coincidence that both Jefferson and Kendra had avoided looking at him today. While he’s not the best at picking up on social cues, he can tell they’ve avoiding him. The lacking information is the why…

He gives them a clipped nod and a forced smile. “Alright. I’ll see if he still wants some upgrades. Thanks.”

Stein flashes him a grin in answer as Ray turns back around and exits the room. Once he’s lost visual on his fellow teammate, Stein turns towards Jax questioningly. He had felt the awkwardness and the guilt radiating off of his teammate, which was making it hard for him to concentrate. Times like these are when psychic connections hinder him.

With a sigh, Jax delves into an answer. Describing exactly what the others had done earlier. The invasion of Ray’s privacy had been bothering him since it started, and it actually felt good to explain to Stein.

In the end, all Stein offers is a pat on the shoulder.

-

Ray winds his way through the hall, a small smirk on his face. He can’t help but think about Mick asking for his help. He’s not sure why Mick never ended up finding him, but it doesn’t hurt to give Mick a kick start. Maybe he just needs an invitation. Mick doesn’t come off as the type of guy that asks for help often.

He’s still smiling as he nears the open doorway of the sitting room. It was one of the least used rooms in the entire ship, especially when the team first came together. It was large, filled with comfortable sitting chairs and cushions, with a large screen for projecting anything anyone wanted. It could be a movie, or as Ray once chose, a constant video loop of the night sky.

Now that the team has grown closer together, it’s used more often. Pairs slip away to watch a film, either fiction or a factual documentary. Or they decide to slide the lights down low and just talk and relax. It’s a good form of therapy.

Now he can hear voices coming from the room, a voice that is distinctly Mick. He’s still got a few feet to go, but the next sentence coming from Mick has him slowing.

“So do you think Pretty Boy will find out?” Mick asks, sounding distracted.

Ray hugs closer to the wall, having just about revealed himself around the wall. Now he hovers a few inches away, listening to their conversation. He wouldn’t normally, but he’s never heard Mick refer to anyone else as Pretty Boy… so they have to be talking about him.

There’s a laugh that follows after, and Ray recognizes it immediately as Leonard. He feels a blush cross his features, but he can’t help feeling excited. Leonard’s involved in a conversation that has to do with Ray. In most situations, he would guarantee his teammate couldn’t care less about him.

It was an awful feeling, considering Ray had quite a crush on Snart. He’d started to really enjoy the man’s sarcastic quips and sneers whenever someone made him angry. But what really captured his interest when Leonard was smiling to himself, something that no one else was really meant to see. Or when Snart was thinking. He loved the way Leonard’s face would relax, with the exception of a small crease where he would bring his brows together.

Ray’s admiring thoughts of Snart are cut short at the next response.

“Doubtful. Unless the more moral teammates decide to say something.” He sounds sure, until he drags the word moral. He sounds displeased at the idea…

What has Ray concerned is what they’re hiding from him.

“Look, it really wasn’t even that big of a deal.” Sara’s voice comes next, defensive. “You wanted to know where he was. Gideon showed us where he was. He was the one who said too much. So it’s on him, really.”

“Really? Because I remember someone requesting the audio on.” Mick shoots back, but he doesn’t sound angry. He sounds amused.

Ray’s face scrunches together in confusion at their conversation. So they had seen him… but was more important was they heard him say something. What had he said of late that was so bad?

“Big deal. I just thought we would hear him singing. Not admitting he’s in love.” Sara responds. A sharp noise follows. Ray imagines she must have slapped Mick on the arm.

Ray’s heart falls immediately. He knows exactly what they’re referring to now. In any other situation, he wouldn’t have even remembered him talking to himself. He was working on his suit, listening to music, and reveling in his feelings. It was a private moment. Or so he thought. Now he’s humiliated.

“Yes, Raymond is so adorable with his little crushes, isn’t he? Now can we move on to something that’s actually interesting?” Snart’s voice is thick with sarcasm, which only worsens the moment for Ray. Despite his humiliation, Snart’s easy dismissal of the topic of Ray was hurtful.

Ray turns around, headed right back in the direction he had came from. He’s heard enough.

-

It’s a few hours later and it’s just midevening. Rip has summoned the team to the deck, waiting patiently as they slide in a few at a time. They take their seats and delve into conversation one another as they wait for everyone to arrive.

Kendra and Carter arrive first, having been the closest to the room. Immediately they sit next to one another and start to discuss all the places they plan on visiting. The history seems like a part they’re wrapped into. Rip thinks that he would be too, if he lived a hundred lifetimes.

Jefferson and Stein follow after, the two in an argument as per usual. Stein, always providing an overbearing and clinical attitude to things, clashes with Jefferson, who always brings a younger more rebellious challenge.

Sara and Mick are next, the two wearing stone-like expressions as they walk into the room. Leonard follows right behind. All three of their steps are in unison, giving a very clique vibe. They take their spot off to the side, Mick and Sara taking two seats while Leonard places his forearms on the back of their chairs.

With furrowed brows, Rip looks amongst the teammates, noticing the usual smiling face missing. Ray’s lack of presence is definitely noticeable. He looks up at Sara, an immediate question in his expression.

Sara shrugs it off instantly.

“Sorry,” Ray’s soft voice comes from over Rip’s shoulder. He turns around just in time to watch Ray enter the room with his head dipped down. He flashes Rip an apologetic smile and wave before taking a seat towards the back, separated from the others.

Rip’s agitation fades when he sees Ray, but he still manages to flash him a scolding look. He then turns his eyes away towards the others now that they’re all together. He pushes off the far wall to lift his hands in a welcoming gesture.

“I thought it best we do a short briefing on the next mission.” Rip takes one large stride over the few steps down to the deck. He moves to stand in front of the center console, looking up at the air patiently. “Gideon, please pull up our next location.”

“Yes, Captain Hunter.”

Rip leans forward as a map comes into clarity. He motions towards the centered dot, now dragging his eyes across everyone in the room. “This is our next stop. Quite technologically advanced and high in security. Although, the year we’ll be stopping in is 1986. Our target,” Ray pauses, now swiping his hand through the hologram and a picture of a man with a shaggy cut and a thick beard is provided, “is Omar Shandar. And he has a piece of technology in his possession that can crack any privacy coding anyone has ever built. There’s going to be a bid on it in two nights.”

Snart smirks immediately, a waggle to his hips as he switches feet. “You want us to steal it.”

Rip nods decisively, turning his gaze from Snart to Palmer. “Hopefully Dr. Palmer will be able to take down their security system.”

Ray’s brows shoot up at that, shocked that he’s being thrown into this so quickly. A few eyes turn to him to gauge his reaction, so he finds himself shrugging nervously. “Not exactly my specialty but I think I can manage.”

Rip opens his mouth, prepared to continue when Gideon’s voice interjects.

“Is it wise for Dr. Palmer to exert himself?” The artificial intelligence questions.

Heads in the room turn towards the center, confused at Gideon’s concern over Ray. Rip’s one of them. He looks up at the screen with his brows furrowed, lifting one hand in question.

“Why would Dr. Palmer not be able to?” Rip shoots back.

“Dr. Palmer is lovesick.” Gideon answers matter-of-factly.

At the statement, Ray’s eyes widen impossibly wide. It’s all he can do to keep his jaw from unhinging, but the flush that creeps onto his face is undeniable. He feels the tingling heat cross the bridge of his nose to settle high on his cheekbones, staining his skin red.

Sara, on the other hand, allows her mouth to fall open in shock. Tinged with her surprise, there’s a smile hanging just on the edge of her mouth. While she was not expecting Gideon’s answer, she obviously finds it amusing.

Kendra covers the lower half of her face with her hand, trying to hide her own surprise. She darts her eyes over to Carter only to find her partner smirking. He lets his head fall down to his feet as an attempt to hide his entertainment politely.

Jefferson’s hands fly up from his sides in exasperation now that Gideon’s revealed their earlier activities. He turns on his heel, shaking his head as he keeps his back to everyone else. The last person he expected to tell their secret was the AI. Beside him, Stein on chuckles under his breath.

Snart’s eyes dart over to Ray, his expression impassive as he watches him.

Ray tears his eyes away, purposefully keeping his gaze level and away from Leonard. He looks up at Gideon’s projection, his lips parting as he tries to answer. “That’s not how”- Ray interrupts himself with a sigh as he tries to explain. His eyes fall to the floor in embarrassment. “I’m fine, Gideon.”

“By the sources I was able to pull, you’re showing most symptoms for lovesickness, although I haven’t found a logical treatment yet.”

Ray turns to Rip, helplessness and anger shining in his eyes. “You were all spying on me.” Ray turns his eyes to spread around the room, now putting his blame equally on their shoulders. He turns to Sara, Mick, and Len, his anger now sparking. “I heard you three talking about me. Jax told me Mick was searching for me earlier, so I went to find you and overheard what you were saying.”

Sara looks away, down at her hands as Ray talks. Mick keeps himself stolid, not flinching a centimeter as Ray tells him the news. Snart’s face only inches together, more pinched then before as he switches to his other foot to lean on.

Jefferson puts his hands up defensively. “Hey, Kendra and I told them not to.”

Ray shakes his head as he purses his lips together, now standing up from his chair with flourish. He steps away from them, bouncing up the steps gracefully. He turns back to them all, pointing one stern but halfhearted finger at them. He opens his mouth, but closes it. With one last shake of his head, he turns around and leaves the room.

“Well done, Gideon.” Rip mumbles as he turns around. He then crosses his arms as he looks back at the rest of the team. He gives them one disappointed look before he turns on his heel to head back into his office. “We’ll continue the briefing later.”

-

Ray, not one to usually hide from his problems, is now cemented in his room. He’s had his back pressed up against the wall with his legs curled on top of his blanket. His head is tilted against the wall with a book open in front of him. The only issue is that he’s been staring at the words while not really reading them. He’s probably read the same paragraph over ten times.

Ray finally accepts his defeat, closing the book. He rolls over, now lying on his stomach as he stretches his arm to his bedside table. The edge of the book is nearly there, just grazing against the wood teasingly. He pushes himself forward, his arm stretching even further. The book lands against the surface, just an inch, so he pushes it forward with his fingers, sliding it on there. With one flick of his finger, the book slides safely on the bedside table.

Ray smirks at his success, now trying to shimmy his way back safely. He’s unbalanced, and most of his body is leaning off the mattress. He brings his hand back, grasping on his sheets as he anchors himself.

“Raymond, I’m coming in,” Leonard says from the other side of the doorway. There’s a small click on the other side and the door is sliding open.

Ray, now in a panic, tries harder to pull himself up. But the blankets are no longer an anchor. His sheets slide from his mattress, now giving into his pulling. Ray falls right to the ground, his legs and arms getting tangled within his blankets as he goes.

He lands with a thud, which Leonard steps into the room just in time to see. The door slides shut behind him.

“Did I come at a bad time?” Leonard questions, his voice lilted up in amusement.

Ray suppresses a groan as he opens his eyes. He glimpses up at Snart from his place on the floor. He glimpses at the man momentarily, clenching his teeth as he feels another brush crawl over his shoulders and down his arms. He then turns to glance at his book. “I was putting my book back.”

Leonard’s eyes dart over, noticing the book for a second before turning back to Ray. “And now you’re on the floor.”

Ray exhales through his nose, the noise is loud and annoyed. He finally sits up, his unruly hair moves with his actions since it was flattened by his cap. He stands to throw his blanket back on his mattress. So as not to seem to interested, Ray starts to straighten out the blanket.

“What do you want, Snart?” Ray questions. His tone is cold, but mainly resigned. His exhaustion shines through.

Leonard thinks of his next words carefully, although Ray just takes it as silence. He’s unsure if he wants to responds with a sarcastic comment, just to make the air a little bit more comfortable, or if he wants to actually be kind. Instead, he just brings a box out from behind his back that has a red ribbon tied around it.

“I thought we could have a small chat.” Leonard's voice drawls. “About earlier.”

“You sure you don’t want to talk about something actually interesting?” Ray shoots back, his words copied straight from Snart’s conversation earlier. Ray turns around once he deems the bed suitable, finding Leonard with the box out in front of him. Before he can ask, Leonard starts to explain.

“Gideon thought I should bring this to you.” He says it simply, cocking his head as he examines the box himself.

Ray’s face furrows in curiosity. He looks down at the box and back to Leonard, taking the bait. “What is it?”

Leonard’s eyes dart up from where he was tracing the red ribbon. He smiles as he pushes the box forward just an inch to egg Ray on. “Open it.”

Ray gives Leonard a tired look, moving to lean back on his bed. Snart waves it forward just a little further, stepping closer with his gesture. Ray finally caves in, and reaches out for the box. He tries not to notice the way Leonard’s smirking when Ray accepts the gift.

Without any invitation, Snart moves to Ray’s side and sits on the bed. Their sides are only separated by a foot of space, and with anyone else Ray wouldn’t note the distance. Of course he notices with Snart. He rolls his eyes back to the box, now untying the ribbon with care. He takes the silky ribbon in one hand, smiling at it.

“I suggested blue but Gideon thought otherwise. I got an explaination on how red would be more logical because you seem to wear it often.” Snart’s voice turns monotonous as he starts to reiterate Gideon’s suggestion.

Ray snorts through his nose as he sits it in his lap. He looks up from the box, meeting Snart’s gaze juts for a second. He loses his confidence, now turning back to the box. He can’t take Leonard’s eyes on him.

Ray unlatches the top of the box as he talks, trying not to lose his strength again. “I love blue.” He answers, just as he holds the lid in one hand and the box in the other.

Inside is a gold foil tray, lined with small chocolates. They’re all extravagant, far ritzier that Ray ever would have expected on the ship. There’s all color ranges, going from white to dark, and some even have a shade of chocolate drizzled over. In the corner are three strawberries equally coated in chocolate, but the heads are revealed to provide a rich contrast from the red fruit to the chocolate.

Ray’s smile spreads across his face like a fire. Slowly, he shakes his head in amazement as he turns to Leonard.

Snart has the corner of his mouth quirked up at Ray’s response, now leaning back to prop his hands up on his teammates bed. He looks smug as one shoulder lifts in a shrug. “Chocolate is supposedly good for lovesickness.”

Ray’s skin flushes at the word, and he finds himself staring back down at the chocolates. “I think it’ll help.” He answers with a small smile.

Snart’s knee bobbles at Ray’s side, his words coming next. “I can also help with lovesickness.”

Ray can feel his breath cut off automatically at the words and his mind goes blank. From the lack of thinking, he nearly drops the chocolates, but he recovers. He captures the box in both hands, letting the lid float to the ground in stead. Now that he has the candy in between both hands, he turns slowly to Snart.

“What”- Ray swallows “-would you mean?”

Leonard’s eyes stare into Ray’s, as if he’s gauging the moment. He’s checking on Ray, no doubt taking one last glimpse to make sure he’s not reading the moment wrong. Leonard’s typically confident in his skills of reading people, he’s a criminal so he learned, but this is a different situation.

There’s a moment of silence, and Ray’s lips part just a centimeter as he’s about to talk, but Snart takes his chance. His eyes dart down to Ray’s lips as he leans forward. His one hand stays on the blanket, while the other lands high on Ray’s hip. Their lips connect seconds later, softer than Ray imagined Leonard would kiss. He purses his lips in response, his heart quickening in pace when he feels Snart’s response. Snart’s tongue grazes out to greet Ray’s bottom lip, but then he’s pulling back.

It was an offer, something soft and enticing. And Ray knows his answer. He’s launching forward only a moment later, his free hand lifting to grasp onto Leonard’s jacket. He kisses back, firmly this time. This is his answer.

Snart smirks into the kiss as he accepts Ray’s decision. He separates from the other, only to grasp onto the box of chocolates. He leans down, grasping onto the lid. He slips it safely back onto the chocolates and then abandons the box at the bottom of the bed. Now he stands in front of Ray, loving the way the other opens his legs for him. Snart moves to stand in between them, lifting one hand to cradle Ray’s cheek.

Ray inhales, a way of grounding himself in that moment. The scent of Leonard is something unique, and certainly something he won’t be forgetting. He hopes every time he catches the whiff of chocolates and Len he thinks of this exact moment.

Snart then leans down, pressing his forehead against Ray’s.

Breathing out, Ray finds himself grasping tigher onto the lapels of Snart’s jacket. “You’re only going to make it worse.” Ray whispers just before Snart’s lips crash down to his. He doesn’t think Snart even connected his words, but Ray meant it. Snart won’t be a solution to his lovesickness, he can already tell. He’s only going to fall harder and harder for this man.

So long as he has Snart in his arms, kissing him like this… Ray thinks he can deal with his lovesickness just fine.


End file.
